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Sarbanes Calls on Senate Republicans to Pass Historic Anti-Corruption and Clean Elections Bill

March 9, 2020

For More Than One Year, Senate Republicans Have Blocked H.R. 1, the For the People Act, a Bill to Root Out Corruption in Washington, Protect the Right to Vote, Ensure Clean and Fair Elections and End the Dominance of Big Money in Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democracy Reform Task Force Chair Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today marked the one-year anniversary of passing H.R. 1, the For the People Act, in the U.S. House of Representatives by calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans to end their year-long obstruction campaign and finally vote on this historic anti-corruption and clean elections bill.

H.R. 1 – the most significant government reform package to pass the U.S. House of Representatives in half a century – would ensure clean and fair elections, end the dominance of big money in American politics and make sure that public officials put the public's interests ahead of special interests.

"The American people, from all walks of life and of all political stripes, are fed up with the status quo in Washington, where wealthy donors and corporate special interests write the checks and call the shots." said Congressman Sarbanes, who authored H.R. 1 and led its passage in the House of Representatives. "H.R. 1 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rewrite the rules in our nation's capital and put everyday Americans back in charge of our democracy. It's time for Majority Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans to end their stonewalling and bring up H.R. 1 for a vote. The American people demand it."

Key provisions of H.R. 1 include:

  • Ensuring clean and fair elections.
    • Improving Access – H.R. 1 expands access to the ballot box by taking aim at institutional barriers to voting. Patchwork and cumbersome registration systems, disenfranchisement and limited voting hours are roadblocks to a more participatory democracy. H.R. 1 will create automatic voter registration across the country; ensure that individuals who have completed felony sentences have their full rights restored; expand early voting and simplify absentee voting; and modernize the U.S. voting system.
    • Promoting Integrity – H.R. 1 commits Congress to build the record necessary to restore the Voting Rights Act as embodied by House passed H.R. 4; commits Congress to delivering full congressional voting rights and self-government for the residents of the District of Columbia, which only statehood can provide; prohibits voter roll purges like those seen in Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere; and ends partisan gerrymandering to prevent politicians from picking their voters.
    • Strengthening Security – H.R. 1 ensures that American elections are decided by American voters without interference by enhancing federal support for voting system security, particularly paper ballots, increasing oversight over election vendors, and requiring the development of a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions.
  • Ending the dominance of big money in our politics.
    • Guaranteeing Disclosure – H.R. 1 shines a light on dark money in politics by upgrading online political ad disclosure and requiring all organizations involved in political activity to disclose their large donors. H.R. 1 also breaks the so-called ‘nesting-doll' sham that allows big-money contributors and special interests to hide the true funding source of their political spending.
    • Empowering Citizens – H.R. 1 gives political power to everyday Americans, creating a multiple matching system for small donations, thereby allowing the American people to exercise their due influence in our politics. This new 21st century system of citizen-owned elections will break special interests' stranglehold on Congress and lay the groundwork for an agenda that serves the American people. H.R. 1 also reaffirms that Congress should have the authority to regulate money in politics, pushing back on the wrong-headed Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court.
    • Strengthening Oversight – H.R. 1 ensures that there are cops on the campaign finance beat that will enforce the laws on the books. H.R. 1 tightens rules on super PACs and restructures the Federal Election Commission to break the gridlock and enhance its enforcement mechanisms. It also repeals Mitch McConnell's riders that prevent government agencies from requiring commonsense disclosure of political spending.
  • Ensuring public servants work for the public interest.
    • Fortifying Ethics Law – H.R. 1 breaks the influence economy in Washington and increases accountability by expanding conflict of interest law and divestment requirements, slowing the revolving door, preventing Members of Congress from serving on corporate boards and requiring presidents to disclose their tax returns.
    • Imposing Greater Ethics Enforcement – H.R. 1 gives teeth to federal ethics oversight by overhauling the Office of Government Ethics, closing loopholes for lobbyists and foreign agents, ensuring watchdogs have sufficient resources to enforce the law and creating a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

For more information about H.R. 1, see here.

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